Wilhelmstraße Lüdenscheid

Lüdenscheid's Wilhelmstraße, with its long history as a historic commercial street, is one of the first pedestrianised zones in Germany. Its original design from the late 1960s was barely recognisable over the decades and could no longer be preserved or sensibly renovated. Following extensive construction work to relocate sewers and pipes, the surfaces are now being redesigned. This measure will reactivate Wilhelmstrasse as an important link between Rathausplatz and Sternplatz and Lüdenscheid's old town centre. In terms of materiality, the design is based on the two large town squares mentioned above, which were designed in the years up to 2011: a central slab carpet in warm grey granite, the eaves areas in small stone paving. A central drainage strip leads tactilely through the street profile, which is narrow in places but completely free of fittings: restraint in all details. Only around the Inselhaus is there more space; here the roundabout square with a few existing trees and loosely placed furniture forms a lively urban space at the gates of the old town.